With Locks, High-tech Instruments, Multimedia and Adrenaline through the Escape Room
Resource type
Conference Paper not in Proceedings
Status
Accepted
Recommended form of citation (APA)
Steinbach, A., & Berzelius-Team (2024, October 3-5). With Locks, High-tech Instruments, Multimedia and Adrenaline through the Escape Room [Conference paper]. Mini Track on 18th European Conference on Games-Based Learning. Aarhus, Denmark, 3.–5. October 2024.
Author(s)
Berzelius-Team
PHSG Organisation name
Project(s)
License Condition
All rights reserved
Proforis OA-status
metadata only (bibliographisch)
Topic PHSG
Mathematische, Naturwissenschaftliche und Technische Bildung
Fields of Science and Technology (OECD)
Natural sciences
Abstract
For Heraclitus, the fundamental nature of reality was characterized by continual flux: everything is in a state of motion and transformation. In contrast, for Parmenides, the fundamental nature was permanence and unity: reality is unchanging, indivisible, eternal; change is a mere illusion. While the everything-flows perspective derives from sensory perception, the permanence perspective derives from reason and innate ideas. The former stands for empiricism, the latter for rationalism. Both approaches form a dialectical opposition, representing interacting and complementing sources of knowledge. The first covers experimental validation and observation-based learning, the second the reasoning and the development of theories, models and hypotheses. The interplay of these approaches forms the backbone of science. However, teaching this interplay is challenging, and STEM education often leans towards a mind-focused approach, lacking immersive hands-on activities. Educational escape rooms (EERs) are ideally suited to overcome this problem, particularly when they include hands-on activities with real-life science contexts.
In this Mini Track, a work in progress, we present the concept of new types of EERs for STEM education in SWISS upper secondary schools. They excel by integrating outstanding high-tech instruments that facilitate a wide range of exciting real-world hands-on STEM activities. To solve the EER’s overall mission, students must use spectrometers (XRF, IR, Raman), photometers, microscopes, refractometers, etc. to identify chemical substances, some of which are needed as reactants for the final microwave synthesis of, e.g., a crucial serum. Multimedia laboratory journals, centered around the high-tech-instruments, serve as the platform for the puzzle and riddle structure. A design company ensures the immersion of the students by designing and audio-visually animating the EERs. To monitor the success of immersion and learning impact, evaluation in form of interviews and questionnaires will support the project, which will be launched by mid-2025.
The high-tech instruments and the accompanying multimedia journals derive from the Berzelius Project. The interdisciplinary project is well-established and aims to bridge between STEM education in secondary schools and high-technology instrumentation in industry. Moreover, it provides instruments and multimedia journals, supports Matura theses and develops innovative communication approaches such as motion comics and animations.
In this Mini Track, a work in progress, we present the concept of new types of EERs for STEM education in SWISS upper secondary schools. They excel by integrating outstanding high-tech instruments that facilitate a wide range of exciting real-world hands-on STEM activities. To solve the EER’s overall mission, students must use spectrometers (XRF, IR, Raman), photometers, microscopes, refractometers, etc. to identify chemical substances, some of which are needed as reactants for the final microwave synthesis of, e.g., a crucial serum. Multimedia laboratory journals, centered around the high-tech-instruments, serve as the platform for the puzzle and riddle structure. A design company ensures the immersion of the students by designing and audio-visually animating the EERs. To monitor the success of immersion and learning impact, evaluation in form of interviews and questionnaires will support the project, which will be launched by mid-2025.
The high-tech instruments and the accompanying multimedia journals derive from the Berzelius Project. The interdisciplinary project is well-established and aims to bridge between STEM education in secondary schools and high-technology instrumentation in industry. Moreover, it provides instruments and multimedia journals, supports Matura theses and develops innovative communication approaches such as motion comics and animations.
| Name of the event | Conference Host | Place of the event | Start date of the event | End date of the event |
18th European Conference on Game-based Learning | Academic Conferences International | Aarhus, Denmark | October 2, 2024 | October 4, 2024 |
PHSG Organisation name
PHSG division (old structure)
PHSG - Institut Fachdidaktik Naturwissenschaften
Project(s)
Funder
Access Rights
metadata only (bibliographisch)
License Condition
All rights reserved
Rights Holder
Author(s)